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Mainstream

By laguna on May 22, 2016 11:54 pm

Hello Everybody! Finally catching up with the listening, commenting and downloading here in WB. Also, I'm home again, rediscovering my own equipment.

I created this oversaturated artwork (I still suck at Gimp!) to acknowledge my sources. This time I didn't went for the sixties/seventies route. Instead, I thought I should try taking something not so obvious (from the average beat maker/hip hop head point of view, I mean), so I constructed my beat with the first bar of Taylor Swift's "shake it off" and the first sung bar of Lana del Rey's "born to die": two huge global hits instead of obscure breaks... Did I manage to stay original? I don't sincerely know, but I hope so... You tell me!

My intention wasn't make any kind of mashup or "modern reference"/"social commentary". I just simply wanted to find some cool drums and vocals without going the classic Motown route, which I truly love anyway. I was wondering if my 16 y/o self would sample smile

Here you have the originals, two (excellent) songs that you probably have heard a million times by now:


Everything was assembled in Ableton Live 9 Suite with the help of my faithful Novation Mininova, starting from scratch at Saturday morning. I think the voices are the most obvious element and I think they're pretty recognizable but, as usual, it's difficult to judge after diggin' and mixing.

As always, I'd appreciate your comments on it. Please take care and have an amazing week!

Audio works licensed by author under:
CC Attribution Share Alike (BY-SA)

Great, subtle remix (and 2 of the mainstream pop artists I really enjoy despite their fame). Thanks for posting the arrangement view!

Jim Wood wrote:

Great, subtle remix (and 2 of the mainstream pop artists I really enjoy despite their fame). Thanks for posting the arrangement view!

Thanks to you, Jim!

As a general rule, all my tracks are labeled and coloured under the same codes:

RED is drum/beats
ORANGE is bass
PINK means vocals
GREEN are pads

The are 3 FX sends: 1 reverb and two delays (1 is a lame "tape emulation" which gives excellent tails for the high end, the other one is a more "digital" delay in sync with the tempo.

Most of the automation curves are filter related, plus some delay sends every 8 bars

Fantastic track, those drums are great! I don't find the use of the source material too obvious at all, although admittedly I don't know the tracks that well. Awesome job on this one, and as Jim said, thanks for posting the arrangement view, it was awesome to be able to follow along whilst listening to the piece!

what a great track! I really love the sound of the drums. Didn't know the original tracks you used, but i like how the voices sound in this one! smile

Dope track, I've never heard the source material you used until I listened to the provided links, great use of the material, doesn't sound anything like a remix but an original track, and in my opinion much more enjoyable then the source material

Sorry, i dont know the original material.
But my meaning is, elementary beautiful.
Absolute great mix and sounds, all fit´s perfect.

Niiiice.  Deep track.  Vocal cuts are supreme :-)

Martiln wrote:

Fantastic track, those drums are great! I don't find the use of the source material too obvious at all, although admittedly I don't know the tracks that well. Awesome job on this one, and as Jim said, thanks for posting the arrangement view, it was awesome to be able to follow along whilst listening to the piece!

Thanks, Martiln!

Sorry for this late reply. i should catch up and post the rest of my arrangements, indeed, because it's great to have your insight as producers.

Ipaghost wrote:

dj someguy wrote:

what a great track! I really love the sound of the drums. Didn't know the original tracks you used, but i like how the voices sound in this one! smile

Glad you like it, man! I tried to make something original from some really mainstream tracks


m2K7 wrote:

Sorry, i dont know the original material.
But my meaning is, elementary beautiful.
Absolute great mix and sounds, all fit´s perfect.

THanks m2k7! Means a lot to me! Thanks for the appreciation and listening. Your powerful mixes are a true inspiration


cTrix wrote:

Niiiice.  Deep track.  Vocal cuts are supreme :-)

Thanks cTrix. Curious about what you could have achieved with those drum breaks wink Gimme a call if you want the single shots in Ableton or WAV.

Excellent hybrid beat created here.  That one cymbal crash brings it altogether.  Good use of Lana too.  I'm always a fan of the vocal stutters smile
Nice job!

would never have guessed the samples came from these songs! they've been adapted really well

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